Abou Ali’s hat-trick against FC Porto couldn’t save Al-Ahly from group stage elimination from the ongoing 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, MySportDab reports.
The African giants, having managed just a point in their two previous fixtures in Group A (same as Porto), not only need a win, but an emphatic victory to stand a chance of qualifying for the next round of the competition.
Also, their destiny and knockout chances were wrestled off their hands after their round two loss to Palmeiras as the latter and second-placed Inter Miami had four points each and were facing each other in the Group’s final round of fixtures.
Based on permutations, both the Egyptian and Portuguese giants needed a good win to stand a chance of qualifying for the next round while hoping a winner emerges in the Inter Miami and Palmeiras match.
Abou Ali opened the scoring for the African contingents in the 15th minute but were pegged down to a 1-1 draw a few minutes later through Mora’s 23rd-minute equaliser.
At the stoppage time of the first half, Abou Ali fired Al-Ahly into the lead again to bag his brace but Porto would peg them back to a draw for the second time five minutes into the restart.
However, just a minute after Porto’s second equaliser, Al-Ahly won a penalty and Abou Ali converted it in style to bag his hat-trick and put the team in front for the third time but the rain of goals wasn’t quelled soon.
Just two minutes after Ali’s third goal, Samu Omorodion got Porto back in the game with a leveler for the third time.
11 minutes later, Ben Rhoudane scored Porto’s fourth strike to restore the team’s lead again but an unrelenting Porto fought back late to find the leveler for the fourth time.
Pepe scored a minute from regulation to make it a dramatic 4-4 draw. It was indeed a thriller and the result saw both teams crashing out of the competition in the group stages while Inter Miami and Palmeiras qualified for the next round as they also drew 2-2.
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